Parker: Spurs’ skepticism looks good now after Ibaka upgrade

Even after Oklahoma City officially announced that forward Serge Ibaka was lost for the Western Conference Finals with a calf sprain, the Spurs weren’t convinced.

No one was more skeptical — or paranoid, depending on your point of view — than point guard Tony Parker, who said he wouldn’t believe that Ibaka would miss games until he saw it with his own eyes.

Ibaka did sit out the first two, blowout losses that gave the Spurs a 2-0 series lead as the series shifts north for Games 3 (Sunday) and 4 (Tuesday).

But while some observers might have been caught off guard at his upgrade to day-to-day, Parker isn’t among them. Indeed, he’s already penciled Ibaka back into the lineup even with Thunder general manager Sam Presti’s insistence that there’s no guarantee his team’s defensive anchor will return.

“I knew it was coming,” said Parker Saturday before boarding the team charter to Oklahoma City. “There was no way (he was sitting). I saw they were making fun of us like we were paranoid, but we look good now. I knew it. I just couldn’t believe he would miss the whole playoffs. In our day you would get a shot or something and you play.

“I just knew he was going to play. I’m sure when they looked at the schedule they figured he had a chance to be back for Game 3. That’s why they didn’t bring him to San Antonio (for the first two games). I think it was planned from the beginning. And we’re going to have to be ready because we’re playing a very good team at home.”

Ibaka has yet to practice since his injury in Game 6 of Oklahoma City’s semifinal series with the Clippers on May 15. But if he does return, and if he can provide even a measure of the dominance he’s played with in recent seasons against the Spurs, they could find themselves facing substantially more resistance after winning the first two games by a combined 52 points.

And the Spurs wouldn’t have it any other way.

“It’s great he’s playing,” Patty Mills said. “Nobody wants to be sitting out of any playoff game. I was in that situation in the Finals last year, and it’s a horrible feeling. If he plays it’s great. We want to play against the best and a full-strength side. We’re looking forward to it.”

Said Parker, “I’m happy he’s playing. You want to play against the whole team. You want to play against the best. That’s why we play basketball, to play in these kind of games. I want Ibaka to play. I want him to be 100 percent. I want the whole team to be at their best. That’s what you compete for.”